Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

This is a discussion on Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by akula.sreekanth
So I asked him for the manufacturing month. He said he'll check and come back and ...

So I asked him for the manufacturing month. He said he'll check and come back and later confirmed with me that it is Aug 2012 manufactured.

He has a date - it means he has a VIN number. Get that. Validate it yourself (using the format mentioned in our forums). If it matches, then what he (and the others on the forum) says is correct. We do have a watered down model.

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Ex-show room has been brought down to 9,86,944 (down by 51K) and on road has come down by 96,000 (RT in Karnataka is 18.87% for cars above 10Lakhs and 15.54% for cars below 10L). so the huge difference in the on road price.

That's an excellent offer. And indeed, IMO the savings in the road tax is probably something someone in VW noticed and hence the toned-down version available (or possibly they are just doing a cost-cutting exercise).

But if you are pleased at this lower price, don't show it. Show anger/remorse - try to get a few more freebies, maybe on the insurance or corporate discount or a few accessories. Puchne mae kya jata hai!

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Somebody please tell me if this bridge model is true.

Walk/Run/Drive to the showroom and confirm it buddy, if he has a ready vehicle available. Once he gives you the VIN then there is nothing to be "cheated" about - either you'll get the earlier costlier version, which you seem to be fine with or you'll get the toned-down version, which is at a lower cost. Don't see any issues in either case.

On the other hand, if he's not giving the VIN number before booking, make it clear that you will cancel the booking later if you get an old car. You are not paying the full amount, just the booking amount, so stop worrying.

Please use the digital speedometer (instead of Manual) for consistency and to avoid human errors (its safer to read too)

REASON:
Lot of times one feels that on some days the TDi is more lethargic than other super boost days. This could be total placebo. To make sure the ECU-engine is reposnding accurately, such data would be useful. And once we get lot of data on the same we can have comparisons on type of tunes other ventos are having.

i also strongly suspect the quality of diesel? will it matter? though not directly with turbo spooling but atleast the ECU getting confused?

A good point and it definitely does as well. I have a story about my Delphi injectors on my 1.2 TDI Polo because of bad diesel quality. Started with feeling not so peppy and then felt as if the turbo was not doing its job. Turned out to be the quality of fuel. That was 20,000 kms back. Since then just pure joy.

I am in negotiations with Volkswagen Palace Cross in Bangalore. I was negotiating for Highline TDI and he suddenly mentioned there is a new bridge model which has been launched by VW. He told that steering mounted audio controls are not there and Leatherette seats are not there. But he specifically mentioned that Parking sensors (with parking assistance which comes up on the audio panel screen) and aux port (USB port in the glove box) are still there.

IMO, with an exception to steering mount controls, it is a good deal if all other features are removed to make it cheaper. Because, they can all be added from the market at a better price range. This also reduces the road tax to some extent.

Take sensors & reverse camera for instance. I could get a kit containing these for ₹ 4500/-: 4 sensors & a cam both connecting to a smart box whose output is a distance-announcing female voice with a speaker (hidden below the dashboard which speaks "six, five, four, three" & then "stop, stop, stop" as I drive the car in reverse) & a video out connecting to my ICE, which contains the camera view with an overlay of the distance in meters (same is spoken by the female voice) along with 4 sensor status. Can VW provide all this? Had they provided the sensors, I would have missed out the other features.

On the same lines, the stock ICE is lying idle with me, which was also a waste as I had to replace it with a better one like Witson. I dont know what to do with it even after one year! (who will buy it anyway?!)

The only accessory I have missed so far is the steering wheel controls, which cannot be added as accessory. If VW can make this as an accessory too, it would be really great! In fact, I looked at a nice Bluetooth based device for steering controls. This can pair with my Witson via Bluetooth & the audio & phone controls can be managed! It is also A2DP enabled with a speaker & a mic. This small device molded specifically to fit steering wheel contours, has a rubber strip to tie it neatly! This comes with a package which also contains a Bluetooth enabled mirror with stereo speaker in its back, an SD card slot, a slot to charge it through mini USB, volume control, voice commands, a mini USB slot to connect to a solar panel; which can be clipped on top of the stock middle mirror nicely. This mirror when connected to the mobile, downloads upto 600 contacts automatically & displays the contact name in the small LCD display that is neatly embedded along the mirror surface when a call comes on the mobile. Essentially, a call comes on mobile, the contact name is displayed on the mirror, you can take or drop the call using steering control unit, speak through the same etc., Also it enables sending voice commands to your phone (my android phone switches the car mode on, when this voice button is pressed). The best part is that the mirror has a button to switch on the FM mode: this mode starts transmitting the call or any music played through A2DP to through FM frequencies (configurable by the way) so that when tuned, my Witson plays everything through car speakers!!! Arent these features amazing . Anyway, having said this, I would still prefer OEM built-in steering controls.

Here comes a new vento offer. The Chinese navigation ( from ipl 1) now free with vento with other hosts of offers

Strange - they actually do not have in stock the navigation system that is mentioned in the AD! They are going to give a garmin gps after apologizing immensely. This is what someone working at VW mentioned.

Man, so many questions! Giving the general VW experience based answers, ignore if you wanted an EVM (dealer) specific answer! My answers in italics.

Do I have to call EVM Trivandrum to fix a service appointment? Or do I just take the car there when I reach 15K?- Take an appointment. None of the VW workshops are running free this side of the country, I doubt if EVM would have a free day to take on-the-run appointment.

Will they pick up the car or do I have to take it to them?- Most if not all workshops do provide a pickup/drop facility - but at an (minor) extra charge. Should work if you mention this during the appointment (fixing).

Will they do interior cleaning (shampoo, etc)? If not where is a good place in Trivandrum for this kind of work?- They do a basic cleaning, which is part of the service cost. Wouldn't recommend an extra/additional cleaning service, rather get it done at a good place outside (3M centers in Trivandrum?)

Assuming no major issues, how long does first service take?- Morning drop, evening pickup is the general norm. Stress in advance on getting the car by the same day, that will keep them on their toes. Else they might delay the delivery till the next day.

My VIN is WVWA12607CT022598. Will this guy require clutch hose and/or engine mount replacement?- More important question - do you need these replacements? If not, then why worry? If you find the clutch hard for daily usage, push/cajole/argue and get it done; I doubt they'll do this without asking. As for the engine mount replacement, there was a post on which VIN numbers are applicable - do a search or just ask them (workshop).

Also, there is sometimes pronounced turbo hiss - this, with my luck, will not be audible at service time. What should I say to them about this?- What exactly do you mean by "pronounced"? The hiss is normal - there have been a lot of posts/discussions on this, everybody has been experiencing it. Shouldn't be an issue/pain point.

Also, there is sometimes pronounced turbo hiss - this, with my luck, will not be audible at service time. What should I say to them about this?

1)Praveen You have to call them and fix an appointment. Its safer to call a day in advance( which I guess is sufficient- has worked for me), and they slot you in on the next day. As Ninja suggested stress on getting the car back the same day.

3)They had a 3M guy who had set up shop at the servce centre premises, offering all the 3M care services up until two weeks back.Check witht them if he is still around. I had opted for an interior shampoo and cleaning and I must say they did an excellent job of it. My seats were stained and miserable , but post cleaning they were just as good as new and the car was smelling wonderful on the inside too.
I dont remember how much they charged for it. I think it was 1000 Rs. Sorry dont have the bill at hand.
Call up the service guy- whose number I had texted you( I hope I did)

4)Just a day if you insist on getting your car back the same day. But with the shampooing , i guess it will be pushed to the next.

He has a date - it means he has a VIN number. Get that. Validate it yourself (using the format mentioned in our forums). If it matches, then what he (and the others on the forum) says is correct. We do have a watered down model.

I saw the VIN Number. WVWH12600DTXXXXXX. This confirms that it is an August 12 manufactured car. So looks like we have a new re-re-re-refreshed car as someone posted in the previous replies.

And also what was surprising is the model year is 2013. Do the manufacturers change the model year so early (4 months earlier)

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That's an excellent offer. And indeed, IMO the savings in the road tax is probably something someone in VW noticed and hence the toned-down version available (or possibly they are just doing a cost-cutting exercise).

Indeed it's an excellent offer. At least for bangaloreans who have to shell out close to 13 Lakhs (without discounts) for high line this is an awesome offer. Without discounts the Onroad price is 12L for this new variant.

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But if you are pleased at this lower price, don't show it. Show anger/remorse - try to get a few more freebies, maybe on the insurance or corporate discount or a few accessories. Puchne mae kya jata hai!

I think I made a mistake here. I showed it and I am not getting any freebies except the corporate discount (25K) and free insurance. I guess no other dealer is giving any freebies anyway (sour grapes). But I'm happy that I'm getting the car on road for 80K lesser than the current highline variant.

Thanks once again for all the advice. VIN was a good way to figure out. Didn't know about it earlier. Thanks for the suggestion

Pics of the damaged Bulk head and the new one along with pic of the damaged front brake disc.

Pic 1 - Broken Bulk Head (Position in which it is fitted- Notice the lock for the bonnet on top)
Pic 2 - Broken Bulk Head (Broken section highlighted in red)
Pic 3 - New Bulk Head from behind ( Notice the metal case running inside the Plastic Bulk head highlighted in green - don't think it extends till down, Plastic Bulk head highlighted in red) The metal case is not part of the Plastic Bulk head.
Pic 4 - New Bulk Head ( Ends highlighted with red lines)
Pic 5 - New Bulk Head (Metal casing highlighted)
Pic 6 - Damaged Front Brake Disc. Notice the deep cut line highlighted in black
If you notice such lines please replace the disc immediately as otherwise your brake pads will wear out quickly like it happened in my case.

Even I had to replace this part. They call it as " Lock Carrier". Mine got cut on one side & i was informed to replace it for safety purposes. It was around Rs.2200/- (part) + Rs.1000 (labor)

Unfortunately, this wasnt covered as part of warranty.
I remember running over a hump at 100 kmph. I think that's when it could've got damaged.

The SA told me that the LC is to protect the radiator & the associated parts from any damage, specifically when you scrap the front bottom.

Even one of the two frames of RH headlight got cut due to the impact, but i was told that i have to replace the entire headlight unit itself :(